Feasibility of water-to-liquid-hydrogen transition and ice–hydrogen coexistence in molecular clouds

Determine whether, under cryogenic molecular cloud temperatures and high-radiation conditions, any portion of water molecules can undergo a phase transition to liquid hydrogen, and ascertain the thermodynamic feasibility of a heterogeneous system comprising solid water (ice) and liquid hydrogen coexisting in such environments.

Background

The paper explores whether molecular cloud environments could support life and considers the possibility that hydrogen might play roles analogous to water in terrestrial biology. The author raises specific questions about the existence of liquid hydrogen in such conditions and the potential interactions with water ice, including an unconventional hypothesis about water molecules transitioning to liquid hydrogen. These proposals hinge on thermodynamic feasibility and compatibility with the radiation-rich, low-temperature milieu of molecular clouds.

The author explicitly acknowledges that these issues are not resolved and frames them as questions requiring rigorous technical investigation.